Circa Waves Q&A – Parklife

Indie rockers Circa Waves were formed in 2013 after, appropriately, meeting at a music festival. Wasting no time, debut single ‘Get Away / Good for Me’* was released that same December, followed by the NME Awards Tour and supporting The 1975, before getting their first album, Young Chasers, out the door in March 2015. The band are gearing up for a summer full of festivals, so we chatted to bassist Sam Rourke about escaping their home town, their upcoming schedule and Sting.

Where does the name Circa Waves come from?

[Frontman] Kieran made it up in the bath one day. I have no idea what it means.

For anyone discovering you for the first time at a festival this summer, how would you describe your sound?

Indie rock’n’roll / disco punk.

When and why did you start getting into making music?

I remember starting my first band when I was about 16. All of my experiences of working for £3 an hour or whatever had been pretty soul-destroying, and playing music seemed like a good way to escape. I think that’s a lot of people’s motivation.

Who are your musical influences / heroes?

Recently I’ve been coming back to David Bowie a lot. I didn’t think I was going to be as affected as much I was when he died, but it had a pretty big impact. I’ve been going through his Berlin period, mainly. I love how bold and uncommercial that period sounds, I think everyone can learn from those albums.

Are you doing any writing or recording just now?

We’re in the process of getting all the songs together for the next album. We’re all really excited about the new stuff so we just want to record it and put it out as soon as possible.

What are your plans for the summer?

We’ve got loads of festivals booked this summer and the next album to record, so it should be busy. We’re also trying to fit a lads’ holiday somewhere in the middle of it all, if we can.

What are you looking forward to getting out of your appearance at Parklife Manchester?

We’ve always had amazing gigs in Manchester since we played our first gig there at the Soup Kitchen. It feels like we’ve been away for a while now so the expectations are high.

Do you have any particular goals you’d like to fulfil in your career?

I want to replace Sting as England’s most-loved bass player.

What are you most proud of so far in your career?

Being voted best band at Glastonbury in NME was a good one.

Circa Waves play The Big Top Tent at Parklife Manchester on Sat 11 June.